A disaster which struck the continent of Qalia many years ago. Earthquakes were followed by tsunamis, shattering and then drowning the land and devastating both the Mordebi Empire and the Qaliathari Empire.
During this cataclysm, both the west and eastern coasts of the continent plunged beneath the ocean's surface, leaving the western coast, in particular, full of jagged cliffs. The fertile lands of northern Qalia were flooded with saltwater, which left behind only desert scrublands when it receded.
Following the disaster, the survivors of the two great Human empires were reduced to a sparse, nomadic existence in the infertile desolation of the southern wastes. It was many years after the disaster before this wreck of humanity was unified by Bahman Fendir, who founded Ahgram and planted the seeds of the Ahgramun Empire.
The story of The Breaking can be found in the lore chronicles Mateen's Histories.
A reference from the lore book Travels Through the Kingdom which notes "just as Targonor himself did during the years following the Breaking" suggests that The Breaking may have occurred around the same time as the Orc War on Thestra. If this is the case, The Breaking occurred over 500 years before current game time.